What makes a fighter or boxer scary? Bad impact force? Really nasty personality and behavior? Utterly intimidating looking down skills that terrify not only the other guy in the ring, but also us, the fans, who are watching?
Maybe all this and more.

Here today or tonight, when it’s shadowy and the wind may howl and the kids come calling trick or treat, let’s look back at some of the scariest, most fearsome warriors of all.

In no particular order:

Edwin Valero.

Valero is truly a nightmare, and not in a fun and cordial, “Joyful Halloween” kind of way. Valero, a man seemingly possessed both in and out of the ring (pardon the pun), was actually a good fighter and potentially a great boxer. But aside from his achievements in the ring, Valero is best known today for the brutal murder he committed, and the mad fighter tragically took the life of his own wife. Valero then took his own pathetic life in his cell, and the tortured former champion hanged himself.

In miniature, if there is a place called hell, Valero is burning down there.

Sonny Liston.

Liston was a man who could turn an opponent’s legs to jelly, with both a punch and a baleful glare, before hostilities had even begun in the squared circle. Liston had truly terrifying punching power, and one bad look from Sonny caused many proud fighters to sink mentally. However, beyond his shadowy side portrayed in the media, Liston was considered a genuinely nice guy who loved children and had a great sense of humor.

Liston has for some time become known by many people as the most misunderstood fighter of all.

Mike Tyson.

How could Tyson not make such a list? Capable, in truly insane mode, of biting a man on the ear or trying his hardest to break another ring foe’s arm, Tyson was at one point capable of giving many children nightmares. Tyson in his prime was ferocious and regularly uttered some terrifying sounds: “I tried to grab him by the tip of his nose so the bone would go into his brain,” Tyson once said of his opponent.

Tyson, like Liston, had a truly kind side, but to many he was always considered a heavyweight terrorist that no one could defeat before everything fell apart.

Carlos Monzon.

Some say that “Escopeta” deserves to be called the best middleweight of all. But one thing Monzon didn’t deserve was freedom. It was a truly ghastly turn of events that ended the lives of Monzon and his wife Alicia Muniz in February 1988. Monzon, who had already shown the shadowy side of his nature, choked Muniz unconscious, then threw her (and himself) from the balcony. When confronted by authorities, Monzon claimed that the incident was the result of an accident.

Monzon, who was (legally) cold-blooded during the fight, had a blood-curdling mixture of ice and warm rage coursing through his veins as his shadowy side overwhelmed him.

The celebrations continue, as do the tributes, pieces of nostalgia and spoken word, wonderful memories of those people who were there. We’re talking about a simply epic fight – called the “Rumble” – between heavyweight gods Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Half a century since this astonishing fight, result and advancement in the heart of Africa, fight fans who may not have been born at that time read and hear all about the historic fight that took place in the early morning hours in Zaire.

It is complex today to understand how much of a threat Foreman was considered not only to Ali, but to ANY heavyweight. Foreman, with a record of 40-0(37), was seen as truly unbeatable. How could any fighter, especially the aging Ali (yes, 32 really was considered the age for a boxer, even a heavyweight, in 1974), beat Foreman? The man had macabre power in both hands, and Foreman’s sheer physical strength was also terrifying.

Added to this is the fact that the two men who defeated Ali – Joe Frazier and Ken Norton – were destroyed almost effortlessly by Foreman. No, few people were willing to give Ali a real chance to upset “Huge George” and regain the title. Instead, many people were genuinely concerned about Ali’s health and life.

But Ali’s longtime trainer (apart from his first professional fight), Angelo Dundee, believed in his guy. “Angie” told anyone who would listen before the fight that Ali would find a way to win. Ultimately, Dundee was proven right, even if Ali may not have won the fight as anyone, including Dundee, had imagined. Holding on to the ropes (“a stunning thing for a heavyweight,” said the victorious Ali) and alternating between blocking, sliding, or occasionally absorbing Foreman’s lethal bombs, Ali allowed Foreman to wear him down and then went in for the kill, getting it in the eighth round .

Before he passed away in February 2012, Angelo was kind enough to talk to me on the phone about Ali and his huge victory over Foreman. I also learned that while Foreman’s win was outstanding, Dundee placed Ali’s next win even higher.

“Oh God, this [the win over Foreman] was one of his best,” Dundee told me. “But the best win of all was [first] beat Sonny Liston. To have [Sonny] he truly was the worst man in the world and no one gave my child a chance to get inside. This one was special too.”

Angelo again talked about the “loosened the ropes” myth that absolutely refuses to go away.

“What happened was that I went to Kinshasa – we were 45 minutes from Nsele and stayed in a villa. That day I went to the arena at 4:00 and tried to tighten the ropes, Bobby Goodman and I. These were 24-foot ropes for a 20-foot ring. It wasn’t straightforward, but we pressed them, regardless of the heat in Zaire. The fight didn’t break out until 4 a.m. the next morning, and the heat once again loosened the bonds. I never wanted Muhammad to lie on the ropes; in fact, I patted his ass whenever he lay on the ropes near the corner. The ring was six feet off the ground and I was worried that Foreman would punch him in the chest and throw him out of the ring. If that happened, the fight would be over.”

However, many myths still exist around this epic fight. You may read about some of them in the coming days. Ali’s greatest victory – or, according to Angelo, his second greatest victory – will live on forever. Just like the cartoons that accompany it.

It’s on us. The beginning of the newfangled heavyweight division enters the scene. The last decade of the “Black and White Era” has arrived, dating back to the rise and reign of John L. Sullivan in the 1880s. As you can imagine (and probably know), the Black and White era is filled to the brim with landmarks, classic wars, and the overall expansion of boxing traditions. That being said, the 1950s heavyweight division has the tough task of (unwittingly) bringing an end to the “Black and White Era.”

Enter the BIG 4! The 1940s saw the end of the Joe Louis era with his duology against Jersey Joe Walcott. Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano eventually joined this rivalry, which extended into the coming 1950s. Speaking of Charles, he defeated Walcott to become champion after Louis retired and entered the 1950s as the face of the division. Despite this, Charles (and, by extension, Walcott) failed to win the hearts of the boxing public as an American Hero [Louis] I had it before. Captain America was an ambassador who could not be imitated, a true “people’s champion.”

So the stage is set for this “last dance.” We have a tight list of top players, an unfavored champion and a changing era of the sport. Things are NOT looking good… but just when you think it’s over, the fat lady won’t sing that note! The Brockton Blockbuster brought excitement and order back to the boxing division, lifting the shadows of Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles along the way. What made things even more engaging was the fact that Joe Louis threw his hat back into the mix (we all know that even the best legends can’t resist that comeback). I almost feel guilty for spoiling it, but then again you’ve probably already seen coverage of the BIG 4 in my previous article and video. I’m resting.

What about the era change I mentioned? It came to fruition in 1956, which caused mixed feelings. The surprise was that the division’s elevation was met with a polarizing second half of the decade. The title scene, the contenders, and even the overall state of the division will take a drastic turn and will no longer be what it used to be. Do you know how you can get ailing when the weather changes from balmy to chilly during the day? This is our division from the inside. You’ll see what I mean.

The Olympic Games, as usual, are covered by insurance. The importance begins, in my opinion, at least here, in the 1950s. I mean professional degrees. For the first time, an amateur Olympian successfully paved his way to professional competition.

You have many (and I mean MANY) classic battles up your sleeve:
Joe Louis vs. Rocky Marciano
Ezzard Charles vs. Jersey Joe Walcott III
Jersey Joe Walcott vs. Rocky Marciano I
Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles II
Floyd Patterson vs. Ingemar Johansson I fight
and much more…

Welcome to the finale of the “black and white era” as we fully transition into the newfangled heavyweight scene that is still ongoing. Your portal to heavyweight boxing knowledge starts here. I wholeheartedly hope you enjoy “A Timeline of the 1950s Heavyweight Boxing Division.” Written, narrated and produced by TheCharlesJackson, author of The Encyclopedia of Boxing.